The propellant charge accommodated in a gas generator for vehicle occupant restraint systems is mechanically biased so that during the years of driving operation it cannot move. This is especially important with a tablet-charge filling, because the tablets would rub against each other and would wear away. The biasing units used heretofore have been, by way of example, springs or foam inserts. A pyrotechnic gas generator is usually closed by welding, it being important in the process to prevent the pyrotechnic propellant charge from igniting during the welding as a result of a spark.